


A familiar face

by little_cheshire_fandom_cat



Category: X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Gambit's accent hates me, I'm so sorry, this is some time in the late 80's early 90's
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-09-16 15:37:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9278291
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_cheshire_fandom_cat/pseuds/little_cheshire_fandom_cat
Summary: Tara meets some of the mutants at 'Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters' and immediately manages to get into some (minor) trouble with one of them.





	1. Chapter 1

As she drove up the gravel path she marveled at the beauty of this place. If she were still a kid she’d love to play princess here in this big old English mansion. Well, technically it was American, because obviously it was built in America by Americans, but who cares? She wouldn’t stay for long, anyway, but that wouldn’t stop her from enjoying the view.

And enjoying the view she did, even more so after the door was opened and she was greeted by a young man dressed from head to toe in silver safe for his black Pink Floyd t-shirt. His hair had the most unusual colour. You’d never guess it on someone as young as him. And he had what one could almost call a pretty face if it hadn’t been for the impatient twist of his mouth.

He looked familiar. She’d seen him before, she was sure of it. But where? When? He should have been easy to remember, so why couldn’t she? There was a faint image of a plastic cup, a mermaid’s head printed on its side, running through her mind again and again. Running through her mind. Running through… Running!

Yes, she remembered him now, the mutant at the airport trying to chat up a dainty young lady a few tables away from her at Starbuck’s. Hadn’t worked, he’d gotten coffee all over his shirt. She snickered at the memory, then trying to catch herself she coughed to disguise it. Yes, after the coffee incident he was suddenly gone and at first she thought he might be teleporter, but then he returned for just the fraction of a second and even though for the human eye it was too fast a motion to see her eyes could catch a short glimpse at silver-booted feet moving so quickly she saw them a little blurred.

He’d caught her interest then. No one had ever been faster than her. Before she could do anything about it, though, he was gone again. Until today.

He was standing right in front of her, not even an arm’s length between them, and next to him leaning against the door frame was another young man observing her intently. Where had he come from? Focus, she told herself.

“Who are ya? An’ more importantly, what d’ya want here?”, the man at the door inquired, before his colleague could say anything.

“Only passing through, thought I’d drop by and tell Charles hi, he’s so easily offended when I don’t and it’s really not like I mind his company. His tea parties are after all exquisite”, she replied, examining him. He wore high leather boots, dark pants, something that appeared to be a purple-ish metal chest protector, a long flowy coat whose sleeves were slightly to long for his suntanned arms and a silver ear cuff on his left ear. The most obvious trait though were his red-on-black eyes which were at first concealed by his long chestnut hair but were clearly visible now that he moved his hand through his hair to push it out of his face only for it to fall right back into place. Nevertheless, those eyes were truly mesmerising-

“Still didn’t tell us who you are, though”, the one in front of her remarked, cutting off her train of thought.

She focused on him again. “Didn’t tell me your name, either.” He tried to hide it, but a slight frown appeared on his face. She annoyed him. Good. She liked provoking people. See where it got her. Test how much they’re willing to take.

“So?” he snapped, then, turning to the other one, said in a more relaxed tone: “Why do we always have to do this?”

The man near the door chuckled silently before replying. “’Cause you, mon ami, need ta learn how ta interact wit’ people. Mais, it is very rude of de lady no’ ta tell ya anythin’ much.” With that he fixed his gaze on her, probably trying to intimidate her with his slightly narrowed eyes and his crossed arms, which, to his credit, looked muscular enough to do quite a bit of harm, if need be. The long since healed scars on them suggested he knew how to use those arms, as well.

“Well, now that you asked me so very nicely and indirectly I really to have no choice but to tell you. So here goes: My name is Tara Rennison, I don’t have a second name and even if I did I’d definitely never tell you two. I’m a cancer, hence I’m very sentimental and sympathetic once you get through the diamond walls of emotional protection I build around my heart over the last couple of years. I can be quite romantic at times and suppose I had a special someone I’d prefer to have them all to myself in a nice little cottage near the coast. I hate sharing, probably because I’m an only child. Also, I love sports and art and I’m thinking about opening a gallery in the near future as well as write a book about my absolutely super-amazing and completely uninteresting life. Can I come in now?” She took a deep breath, then raised an eyebrow at both of them, mimicking their own expressions.

“To quote you”, she said, pointing a finger at the boy in front of her while his brows drew closer and closer together, “So?”

They seemed to snap out of whatever it was and the one faster than her and that she still didn’t know the name of motioned for her to come in before disappearing in a blur of grey.

“Is he always so… what should I call it … Distant? … Uncivil? Rude, possibly?” She asked, now facing the remaining one of the pair.

“Look who’s talkin’. Ya’ been pretty mean ta him, ya know dat, right, Tay?” Remy could not however hide the little smirk that slowly edged its way onto his face.

“Oh, come on! I was only having a little fun with him. Plus, aren’t you the one who failed to tell him about me? You knew I was gonna visit today. You could have easily warned him, if you'd wanted to.”

She’d missed him. As they made their way through the halls they bickered for a little longer, both refusing to admit their fault in upsetting Peter – which she learned was the boy’s name – who was apparently hiding in his room for now. She could relate to him on some level. She didn’t like strangers very much herself. Especially not ones like her.

“Ya know, actually I'm glad ya riled him up a li’l. Dat boy’s been a nuisance ta poor ol’ Remy fo’ quite some time now.” When they arrived at Xavier’s door he hugged her briefly and then made for the kitchen to flirt a little with Rogue. In her opinion it was a futile pursuit, but it made him happy so she never said anything. She would tease him for it later, though. After all, that’s what best friends are there for, isn’t it?

She knocked on the heavy wooden door waiting for permission to enter. Once it was given she opened the door, quietly closed it again, made a beeline for the professor and hugged him tightly.

“I’ve missed you, Charles.” She whispered, then broke away from the hug to smile at him softly.

He looked at her for a second, taking in the little changes in her looks and posture before he answered. “And I heard you were already causing a bit of trouble at the door, dear. Could you at least try to take it easy every once in a while? I don’t think my nerves can take another complaint about ‘indecent behaviour’ in this lifetime.”

Her expression changed to a slightly amused look.

“That little - he was actually huffy enough to tell you that? Jesus, Charles, sometimes I think you’re not raising those kids right. No offense, but the snitching has to stop.”

“Why, because you’re at the receiving end of it? How I raise my children is none of your concern. However, I feel I need to inform you that it wasn’t Peter who told me but Remy when you were both still outside.” She looked at him incredulously, opening her mouth to say something, but he cut her off with a flick of his hand. “Don’t, Tara. He’s just worried about you. To be perfectly honest with you, we all are. I know you have had some struggles in the past, but recently there have been more and more hints that you have returned to your earlier behaviour.”

She gulped, visibly upset about his insinuation. They fell into a long and uncomfortable silence before she broke the tension and spoke up. “I’m guessing you’re referring to the events in Europe?” She asked curtly, waiting for him to react and when he nodded she went on. “I wasn’t doing anything criminal there, I promise, but there were some things that needed taking care of that I couldn’t talk to you about and still can’t. There’s still some unfinished business with the Company.”

She paused for a moment contemplating how best to go on. She took the seat across from him and took in a deep breath through her nose, then released it, while looking out of the window, buying some time to try and bring her thoughts in order. This wasn’t necessarily something she wanted to share with him. It was too personal.

When she did speak it was in a ramble, as if she couldn’t bear saying it but did it anyway, very fast, so she wouldn’t stop midway, not giving herself any time to think about what she was about to reveal.

“Rick doesn’t approve of me being here and even less of me leaving his agency but he agreed to let me go under the condition that I will not attempt to return or get in any way in contact with anyone associated with the agency ever again… I know it’s hard to understand, but this is why I had to disappear for a while. I needed time to think it over. I will accept his offer, but I want to say goodbye to some people first which is difficult because I can’t let him know yet that I’m leaving otherwise he would intervene.”

Charles seemed surprised at this rather (in his opinion at least) positive turn of events. It was almost too good to be true. He had tried for years to get her out of that man’s grip. In fact, he wouldn’t have believed this if she hadn’t told him in person, and, of course, if he hadn’t arguably been the most powerful telepath walking the earth and therefore able to detect almost any lie thrown at him. But that was a minor detail.

He did however also notice that it was emotionally emaciating for her to talk about the topic. Thus, he released her after another few minutes of negligible chit-chat.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long! I got a few more chapters written already, but I'm not sure about the order I want them in. Anyway, I know this is quite a short chapter, but it's quite important for the plot. I hope you don't mind. I'm working on the next one right now so it should be ready by the end of the week.
> 
> Oh and if anyone has any suggestions on how to improve my writing style or if there's anything you might want to happen you're welcome to let me know.
> 
> That's that for now. Have a good day :)

That night she sat on the window sill of her small guest room for a long time. It had been a while since she last got the chance to reflect in peace upon everything that’s happened. She took her time putting all the information in order and trying to figure out how she felt about her decision to leave her life of working with Rick behind.

Occasionally she looked up into the night sky. The moon didn’t shine, but she preferred it that way. It allowed her to observe her surroundings without being seen herself. Her abilities granted her perfect eyesight even at night, just like a cat. In fact she could tra-

A knock on the door interrupted her, and a little irritated she strode through the room and yanked the door open. To her not so inconsiderable surprise it was Peter standing in the hall. When their eyes met he quickly averted his gaze. He seemed rather embarrassed for some reason. That he began fiddling with the hem of his shirt definitely suggested it.

He didn’t look like he was going to say anything anytime soon so she took the initiative. “What are you doing here?” She immediately cringed at the unintended bluntness of her tone and the question itself.

If it bothered him he didn’t show it. “I-“, he stopped, then tried again, “I- listen, I’m sorry for having been so rude to you this morning. It won’t happen again, I promise! Please! I’m so sorry, I swear! I didn’t mean anything by it!” Jesus, he sounded desperate. But what on earth was he referring to? He never insulted her-

A thought fleetingly crossed her mind. It was probably stupid but maybe… Well, if you don’t ask you’ll never know, right?

“Did Remy tell you to apologize?”

He looked shocked for a split second before he got his features back under control. “No, of course not. Why would you think that? No offense, that just makes no sense at all.” _So he did_ , she thought.

“Calm down, it’s okay! I’m not angry. In fact, I never was and actually, I should probably be the one apologizing to you. Oh, and next time you see Remy, tell him to stick it. I don’t need his protection.” She almost laughed at the look of relief washing over his face quickly followed by one of utter terror at the thought of having to face Remy again. In hopes of lessening his nervousness, she quickly added: “Tell him I told you to say that and also inform him that if he blames or punishes you for any of this he’ll have to deal with me. That should do, I think.” He nodded slowly and visibly released his breath.

She shifted her weight onto her left foot. There was nothing more to say. So what now?

She was about to tell him goodnight and close the door again when he suddenly spoke up. “How do you know him, anyway? This morning you didn’t seem very familiar at all so how come you’re on first name basis with him now? Unless… Wait. You do know him. And you did know him for quite some time, didn’t you? But then that also means… that he must have known who you were when we talked this morning. So why would you- Actually, you know what? Nevermind. I probably should’ve guessed. He hates me, doesn’t he? Remy? But then what on earth does he see in you?” A variety of emotions crossed his features, the most prominent ones being disappointment and hurt, before they were all replaced by a blank indifferent mask. He leaned back on his heels, considering something, and then sped off.

She was left staring at the empty spot Peter had occupied only seconds ago. Well, that went well.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! I wrote this before the second chapter, but I hope it still makes sense. I personally don't like this one much, however I still felt it was important for the plot.  
> Anyhow, have a nice weekend!

She tried to sneak up on Remy, but it was a lost cause. He’d never admit it, but he had to have a sixth sense that allowed him to notice anyone entering any space near him even if he didn’t pay attention. She was sure he had it. No way was he that good naturally.

How else could he have possibly known she was crouching behind the couch he currently occupied, slowly inching her way around it not making a single sound, all of this happening with the TV on, Remy wearing headphones, fast asleep and with his head buried in a pillow.

Even so, after she managed to crawl halfway around the couch she heard him yawn and the couch squeaked a little. Suddenly a pillow hit her head followed by a soft mumble, something about letting him sleep and he thought she’d already left again, not that he minded.

It was absolutely unbelievable!

“How do you do that? You were asleep for Christ’s sake! I didn’t make a single solitary sound and even if, you don’t have super-hearing or anything like that!,” she exclaimed standing up and throwing her arms in the air in a melodramatic gesture.

“First: Don’ forget who taught ya how ta sneak up on people. Second: Against common belief ya do have emotions an’ those I can feel. Don’ need super-hearing for dat.” He slowly sat up, certain that he wouldn’t get to sleep now that she was here, already going on and on about how it wasn’t fair that he could go anywhere without anyone noticing, and so on. He didn’t listen to it too intently, but several words stuck anyway and so he knew the basic content of her not-really-angry tirade.

“How long are you staying, anyway?,” he asked, cutting Tara off mid-sentence. It took her a second to process the question. He’d caught her a little off guard. She shrugged, her face darkening a little. Motioning for him to move over she sat down next to him. Just like that she felt down. It was as if her body was too heavy, somehow not her own.

It wasn’t long until she had to leave again, but she’d just arrived and she’d missed her friends so terribly! I wasn’t fair!

“Why ya so upset, chere? It was jus’ a question.” The concern in his voice made her uncomfortable. She didn’t want him to worry about her. It wasn’t like she was worth worrying about anyway.

“I’m leaving tomorrow.” Without another word she got up from the sofa and left, ignoring his calls for her.

*****

She got on the plane to London at 7.30 am.

 _It will only take a few days_ , she told herself over and over again. _A week at most_.

*****

“Heya, how ya doin’, kiddo?”

“For the last time: I. Am. Not. A. Kid!” She knew it wouldn’t help any, but said it anyway every time James did that. She wasn’t actually mad; the bickering had more or less just become a tradition of theirs over the last couple of years.

He didn’t seem mad either. Then again he never could stay angry at anyone. James had a heart of gold and thinking of it now she realised she had not given him enough credit for that in all the years they had worked together. It was too late to start now, though, so she just gave him her brightest smile and let him catch her in one of his bone-crushing bear hugs.

*****

Most of them were already crossed off her list with only two more to go. She was scared of these more than any of the others, because they had been her family for the most part of her life.

“Hey, Aidan! Are you free tonight?,” she dearly hoped he hadn’t heard the slight tremor in her voice.

It was quiet on the other end for a moment that was just long enough to let panic rise to her chest when he replied in his usual happy, bouncy sing song voice. “Yeah. What were you thinking of doing? Before you say anything you need to know that Philip is staying at mine, though. You want him to come, too?”

Shit. Or good? Philip was the other person left on her list and she didn’t know whether she was glad he was there as well, or not. She decided it didn’t really matter anyway so she said yes, she’d like that and would it be alright if she just came over with some food and they’d watch a movie like they used to in high school.

An hour later they were all three of them lounging on the couches in Aidan’s living room, chattering about this and that.

When it was time for her to leave she looked at everything and did everything as if it was for the last time. Then she remembered that it was and the thought nearly brought her to tears. She tried not to show it and Aidan, God bless his soul, didn’t seem to notice anything. He was smiling now but he would hate her for this later, she knew that. If there was one thing he wasn’t good at it was forgiving.

Once Aidan had said goodnight and went to his room Philip brought her to the door. Stepping outside next to her he closed it behind himself.

He knew. Shit. Now the tears were streaming down her face for real.

“I’m sorry, Fee. I never wanted this.” God, she was so pathetic. For a second she expected him to push her down the stairs or scream at her or even just slam the door in her face.

Instead, he took her hand and squeezed it shortly, before saying, “Don’t be sorry. This never was your life. Tara, I’m so proud of you, you hear me? All I ever wanted for you was a happy life and there was no way you’d find it here. So please do me a favour and use this chance, okay?”

She started sobbing in earnest. “But Aidan –“

“- will get over it eventually. He’s hot-tempered, but he loves you, just like I do.” Philip gave her a quick hug before adding. “Just promise me to look after yourself, alright?”

He held out his pinky finger to her. “Seriously, the pinky swear?” She was smiling just the tiniest bit again.

“Yes, what else?,” he chuckled quietly. “Anything to see that smile.”


	4. Chapter 4

In the following weeks after she had returned from Europe a lot of Tara’s things mysteriously went missing, small objects at first like rings or sunglasses but as more and more time passed they got bigger until one day her pillow and blanket were gone.

She hadn’t thought much of it in the beginning. She lost stuff all the time after all she was one of the most chaotic and unorganised people she knew, but when the stuff didn’t reappear or only in places like the common room where she would never leave anything she wasn’t naïve enough to believe it happened by chance.

Finding the culprit wasn’t as easy as she’d hoped, though. The list of people who didn’t necessarily appreciate her presence was long. Then again most of them weren’t clever enough or talented enough to pull this off for such a long period of time, which left only two options. 1. There were several kids at once who were plotting against her which was unlikely at best. She was sure she would  have noticed such a thing weeks ago. No bigger group of children could be that subtle. This only left option 2. She dearly hoped it wasn’t but the evidence clearly suggested it. No one had seen anything, no one had heard anything, either. No one behaved exceptionally dismissive or fake. No one but one student. So if it was as she thought and Peter was behind all this then she definitely had a problem. He was more persistent than most estimated. Thus, it would not do if she simply ignored this. However, the effort required on her part to clear this up for good was… well, let’s just say she didn’t expect to enjoy it very much.

Regardless of that, she needed this out of her way and she wouldn’t let her stupid pride stop her. That’s what she kept telling herself, at least. Whenever she was about to talk to him, though, she discovered that there was something incredibly important that had to be taken care of ASAP.

In the end it was Remy who pushed her to finally do it.

That is how she found herself standing in front of Peter’s door for the umpteenth time that week, her hand raised to knock when the door was opened rather violently.

“What do you want?” Peter inquired icily.

Suddenly her throat felt like sand paper. She gulped, opened her mouth, closed it again. An uncomfortable silence spread between them.

“If you don’t have anything to say, leave. You’re not welcome here.” He was about to slam the door in her face when she finally pulled herself together.

“Wait!” he froze and she took the chance to put a hand on the door, keeping it open. “Peter, please, wait! I’m sorry, okay? I don’t know what else to tell you, but I mean it. I shouldn’t have done that. If you can’t accept my apology, that’s fine. I’ll have to live with that then. But I won’t pretend that I will gladly do anything just so you forgive me. And I just realised that I’m terrible at apologising. I do want you to know, though, that neither Remy nor I  meant anything by, it was just an immature prank, and that we both, in fact, do not hate you.” She was absolutely terrified of how he might react, but still she didn’t dare break eye contact with him. She needed him to know that what she said was true. Or maybe she needed herself to believe it. To believe that she wasn’t the person Rick raised her to be.

He studied her face for any signs that this was a lie, making her squirm under the scrutiny. When he could find none he offered her his hand which she hesitantly took and said, “You’re honest. I like that. But if you ever do something like that again I will prank you back so hard you’ll not recover from it in this lifetime.” Then, in a much lighter tone he added, “So are you hungry? There’s this shawarma place I always wanted to try. I was thinking, if you want to, we could go there?”

Tara was a bit baffled by the sudden change in his attitude. Even for her that was fast. “Now?”

“Of course now.” When he saw her hesitant expression he added, “I can give you a lift. It’ll only take a second, promise.”

Her shoulders lost a little of the tension they’d previously possessed, but she still wasn’t convinced. She knew he was quick-tempered, obviously. But if he changed his mind again and dumped her in the middle of nowhere… well, then she’d be stranded in the middle of nowhere and to be honest that did not exactly sound appealing.

Then again she did have a thing for adventures and (if nothing went wrong) this might actually be fun.

“Alright, let me just get my purse and –“

“You mean…” he cut her off, taking something out of his back pocket “… this one?” She frowned. When did he – Nevermind, she didn’t want to know.

She did want to wipe that stupid smug grin off his face, though. Ripping the purse from his hand she said “I thought this was only gonna take a second. I’m waiting.” She tapped her foot, pointing at her wrist watch in mock annoyance.

Shit. The devious smirk he send her way didn’t bode well. Not well at all. To her dismay she found she was right only moments later when her stomach very nearly revolted.

It took her a second before she noticed the small diner behind him.

“Fast enough for you?” Oh how she wanted to wipe that stupid smile right off his face.

Not wanting to give him the satisfaction of launching at him (which she definitely felt like) she panted, “Yeah, perfect. Just give me a minute.” Pant, pant. She hadn’t even done any of the running herself. She just hoped she didn’t look as pathetic as she felt.

They entered the shop and sat down at the only table in front of the window. When Tara studied the sparse menu she winced. Eating was still out of the question. Even thinking about it made her turn green around the nose.

She put the menu aside. She felt like she needed to say something, but found that she didn’t have a clue about what Peter was interested in. Before she could come up with some half-witted comment on the weather he asked her “So… You don’t like to share? Is that true or did you make it up along the way of your little ramble first day?”

She gave him an incredulous look. “You remember that?” She didn’t wait for an answer, but he nodded anyway. “But that must feel like a million years ago to you, no? I can’t even remember what I ate for breakfast! But yeah, it’s true. Sharing is caring is just no. I mean not every only child is like me, obviously, and I’m fine with lending pens or a dvd, but if you try to get between me and my food you will not live to see another sunrise. I have to say, though, that I’m really not hungry right now.” Raising one hand to swipe the hair out of her face she asked “And you?”


End file.
